| Summary: | Online reputation has become a critical component of the digital business, significantly impacting consumer perceptions and purchase decisions. As customers increasingly share their opinions on the internet, managing an online reputation becomes a formidable challenge. Electronic Word-of-mouth (e-WoM) plays a crucial role in shaping brand image, with both positive and negative e-WoM influencing consumer behaviors. Negative e-WoM, expressed by dissatisfied customers on various online platforms, poses a threat to an organization’s reputation. Negative e-WoM can lead to revenue loss, hinder customer acquisition, and damage brand reputation. Organizations struggle to mitigate the impact of negative reviews while maintaining a positive online image. Therefore, this study aims to address this challenge by proposing a reconciliation model that can manage negative e-WoM in maintaining online reputation. Three dimensions have been identified in this study namely positive reply, customer retention, and customer relationship. The reconciliation factors under the dimension of positive reply are apology statement, problem explanation, and positive statement. The factors under the dimension of customer retention are compensation and appreciation, while the factors under the dimension of customer relationship are customer service, communication, and response. Based on the identified reconciliation factors, a reconciliation model that can manage negative e- WoM in maintaining positive e-WoM was developed with nine hypotheses. This study employs a quantitative approach and is based on the positivist paradigm. A questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection in measuring the proposed reconciliation model. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) tool was used to analyze the data collected from 635 respondents. The data analysis results show that the reconciliation factors of apology statement, positive statement, problem explanation, appreciation, communication, customer service, respond, and reconciliation are significant. The proposed reconciliation model provides practical insights for organizations seeking to manage negative e-WoM in maintaining online reputation. Through reconciliation in addressing customer concerns and dissatisfaction, organizations can mitigate the impact of negative e- WoM, build trust and credibility, and ultimately, enhance their brand reputation and competitiveness in the market.
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